Nepal PM begins week-long China visit aimed at deepening ties

Nepal’s prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli left has embarked on a week-long visit to China aimed at deepening tries following months of frosty relations with neighbouring India.

“The prime minister left today on his first official visit to China to strengthen relations with our neighbour,” Pramod Dhahal, the prime minister’s press adviser said.

READ MORE: China to provide fuel to Nepal amid undeclared blockade by India

The visit comes a month after the prime minister visited India – a traditional first overseas stop for Nepali prime ministers – to mend ties strained by a border blockade.

Demonstrators from the minority Madhesi community in southern Nepal blocked a major crossing on the Indian border for several months in a protest against a new constitution.

Nepal accused India, which has close links to the Madhesis, of imposing an “unofficial blockade” after cargo movement slowed at other border checkpoints in the south.

The blockade, which ended last month, sparked severe shortages of fuel and other vital supplies and forced the landlocked Himalayan nation to turn to its only other neighbour, China.